Women's Impact Report 2012: Executives

With the death of longtime NRG and FP Prods. partner Joseph Farrell, veteran marketing strategist Paura decided to “get my groove back” about the marketplace and created Capstone with sister Angela Paura (also an NRG vet). The two continue to break ground in monitoring the entertainment marketplace: “We focus on numbers, but what’s really important is the whole message,” she says. “You can’t look at a number and interpret it unless you get under the hood of the data.”

What we should know: “Sometimes I think there’s a sense that Hollywood does what it wants and that’s what it’s all about. To say they don’t want to make money is ridiculous, but I do believe that they know that if they don’t make movies people will enjoy, they’re not going to make any money. So the two are married.”

Word of wisdom: “A person really has to know what part of the industry they want to be in. When I was at NRG I used to ask any new analyst we hired if they really liked to work with numbers, and if so is that one of the reasons you want this job? And if they said yes, I’d say this job isn’t about numbers — it’s about interpreting attitudes that translate into behavior. It’s like those paint-by-numbers kits — when you’re done painting, you don’t see the numbers, you see the full picture.”

Smartphone habits: “Have both — just in case! I use them all the time on vacation. I feel it’s more relaxing if I’m in touch, rather than wondering what’s going on and getting anxiety about it. I’m such a typical Type A personality.”

Work week: “Probably about 60 to 70 hours a week. And over the weekends. It is what it is.”

Life-work balance: “Even though my family life is non-traditional, family is important to me. I always believed that knowing I was connected to this big extended Italian family that it would keep me grounded. My nephews have always been the priority for me, even if I had to juggle my schedule to be with them. Their schedule came first — and I didn’t have an issue with that.”

Charitable passion: “The Rape Foundation (Rape Treatment Center). You really feel as though you’re making a difference … and you can literally see how your money is being spent, and the services and the help the center is providing. I was never raped or abused — but knowing you’re making a difference to victims of such violent and heinous crimes is something that satisfies me.”